What is this acetylene burner for?

Looks to be a much older Prestolite unit than the one I have. "B"- sized tank, B for Bus, not "Buick". The "MC" is the only smaller acetylene tank. Originally were for vehicle lighting, pre-electric generator days. Old as these things are, the plumbing and AC boys keep them in constant use, any decent supplier will swap them for filled ones. Air-acetylene is just so much more intense than air- propane, it isn't funny. I started silver-brazing with air-propane when I was a kid. When we inherited my granddad's Prestolite, my brazing improved a lot. The stuff actually wicked in to joints like it was supposed to rather than sticking things together in lumps. Makes short work of copper plumbing jobs, too. I've seen my granddad cut lead drain pipe apart with it during demolition and replacement with cast iron, worked great. Cost of running is the only drawback, fills have gotten a lot more expensive over the years. Kind of offset by the extra heat, you don't need to run it long to make a joint.

Stan

Thing is, too, Stan ....... they are easy to tote up on a roof to an AC unit, or drag around the inside of a half framed house and do copper solder sweating. That's the upside of the small bottle, hose, and torch.

Steve

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A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

Just to add a little more fuel to the fire:

I bought a set of oxyacetylene regulators in the early '70s. I also "bought" an oxgen cyulinder at that time. The guy I got the regulators from gave me 2 of those type B cylinders at the time. When I do need to weld, I can easily get enough acetylene from the type B cylinder, so I never bought a larger one. Since then I have acquired a couple more of them, so I can always have a spare or two full cylinders on hand. My welding cart has oxygen, type B acetylene and 20# propane cylinders on it. There are correct regulators on each bottle, with quick disconnects for the fuel gases. My only rosebud is for propane, although I have cutting tips for both gases. Works for me.

Last comment: It's not a good idea to lay an acetylene cylinder on its side.

Pete Stanaiits

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While we are on the subject of air acetylene and its various qualities.

Several years ago I found a strange looking piece in a welding store. It looked like a 2" piece of ~3/16" heavy wall copper pipe with 3or4 holes drilled just above where it was held in a short section of rubber gas line and held in place with a crimped on brass fitting normally used on OA hose. I should post a picture when I get time.

I was told this was an addapter to make an air acetylene torch out of a standard OA welding tip. Just jam the hose over the OA tip and use the std acet valve and no O2.

Since it was cheap, I bought it to try and was quite pleased as it created a soft & spread flame that was excelent for soldering radiators and other misc work where OA is just too focused and powerful. I do not use it very often but it has earned a place in the AO drawer on my rig and is very handy when a softer cooler torch is needed.

Good luck,

Kind of interesting. Any problems with the rubber hose getting toasted? I only have the one tip for my Prestolite rig and I'm sure it's waaay to old to get any others. Might be worth it making one up for my O/A setup. Wouldn't use it too frequently. Basically a Bunsen burner using the O/A tip as the orifice. Probably needs a sleeve to adjust air intake, same as a Bunsen burner.

Stan